11 facts about mammoths

By Kyrie O'Connor

on February 24, 2016 8:03 AM

Of all the prehistoric mammals, none has captured the imagination like the mammoth.

11 Facts About Mammoths:

Imagine that

Of all the prehistoric mammals, none has captured the imagination like the mammoth.

11 Facts About Mammoths: Imagine that Of all the prehistoric...photo-8369064.125514 - |ucfirst

Connection

It wasn't until Feb. 25, 1866 in Calaveras County, Calif., that miners unearthed what is known as the Calaveras Skull, a mastodon skull that was the first proof that humans coexisted with these giant creatures. On a completely random note, Mark Twain had published his acclaimed short story "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" just a few months before.

Mammoths were about as big as African elephants. The woolly mammoth existed on the mainland until about 10,000 years ago, on St. Paul island until 6,400 years ago, and on Wrangel Island until 4,000 years ago.

Mammoths were about as big as African elephants. The woolly mammoth existed on the mainland until about 10,000 years ago, on St. Paul island until 6,400 years ago, and on Wrangel Island until 4,000 years

When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark out to explore the Northwest, he really, really hoped they would find living mammoths.

Wishin' and hopin'

When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark out to explore the Northwest, he really, really hoped they would find living mammoths.

Photo: HO

Wishin' and hopin' When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis...photo-8254584.125514 - |ucfirst

We're terrible

Recent studies have shown a strong correlation between the arrival of humans and the extinction of megafauna in region after region. This suggests our greedy relatives hunted them to extinction. Thanks, guys.

While the ethics are hotly debated, geneticists believe they can extract enough DNA from frozen mammoth carcasses to sequence most of the genome. They may use CRISPR gene-spicing technology to add certain key genetic factors to the genome of an Asian elephant, to produce a hybrid that (we hope) has most of the key characteristics of a mammoth.